UpdateCanada weekly chemical railcar traffic falls by 8.1%

29 November 2012 20:52[Source: ICIS news]

(updates with Canadian and Mexican data)

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Chemical shipments on Canadian railroads fell by 8.1% year on year for the week ended 24 November, marking their second decline in a row and the 35th decline so far this year, according to data released by a rail industry association on Wednesday.

Canadian chemical railcar loadings for the week totalled 9,662, compared with 10,512 in the same week in 2011, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said.

The weekly chemical railcar loadings data are seen as important real-time measures of chemical industry activity and demand. Canadian chemical producers rely on rail to ship more than 70% of their products, with many firms relying exclusively on rail shipments.

From 1 January to 24 November, Canadian chemical railcar loadings were down by 6.1% year on year, to 490,315.

The AAR said that weekly chemical railcar traffic in ?xml:namespace>Mexico rose by 15.1% year on year, to 1,247. From 1 January to 24 November, Mexican chemical railcar loadings were up by 8.6% to 60,190.